The present invention relates to a connector assembly, and in particular, a connector assembly which reduces strain on wires coupled to the connector assembly.
There are various devices which exist for protecting electrical circuits from excessive voltages and/or currents. One such device for use with telecommunications systems is known in the field as an xe2x80x9cbuilding entrance protectorxe2x80x9d, for example of the type produced by Lucent Technologies, Inc., of Murray Hill, N.J. Building entrance protectors typically couple the internal telecommunications lines (e.g. phone lines) of a building or other structure to the external telecommunications lines of a telecommunications provider. The building entrance protector shields the internal telecommunications lines from overvoltage and overcurrent conditions by shunting any excess voltage or current present on the external lines away from the internal lines.
FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of a conventional building entrance protector 10. The building entrance protector 10 includes a housing 15 which is movable about joints 16, 17. Joint 17 defines upper 18 and lower 19 portions of the housing 15. The upper portion 18 of the housing 15 includes a plurality of output pins 20, each of which are coupled to a separate wire (e.g. wire 21) at a lower end 25 of the pins. The output pins 20 are all coupled to a connector assembly 27 which holds and retains the output pins. An upper end 26 of each output pin 20 is coupled to an internal telecommunications line (not shown) as explained in detail below. The wire or wires (e.g. wire 21) are bunched together into a wire bunch 22 and fed to the lower portion 19 of the housing 15 where each wire of the bunch is coupled to a lower end 35 of one of a respective plurality of input pins 30 by wire wrap. A plurality of plug-in protection devices 40 are coupled to an upper end 36 of the input pins 30. The plug-in protection devices 40 may be of a type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,150 to Dickey et al., which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The protection devices 40 protect the input pins 30 from overvoltage and overcurrent conditions. External telecommunications lines (not shown) are coupled to the protection devices 40, and consequently input pins 30, as explained below.
In operation, internal telecommunications lines (not shown) of a building or other structure are coupled to the plurality of output pins 20, and the external telecommunications lines (not shown) of a telecommunications service provider are coupled to the plurality of input pins 30 through protection devices 40. During normal operation, telecommunications signals pass between the input pins 30 and output pins 20 without interruption. However, if an overvoltage or overcurrent condition is presented on one of the external lines, the excess voltage or current is shunted away from the input pins 30 by protection devices 40.
FIGS. 2(a)-2(c) show top, front and side elevation views, respectively, of the connector assembly 27. The connector assembly 27 is substantially rectangular and includes a plurality of output pins 20 coupled to an upper side 28 thereof. Each output pin 20 includes an upper 26 and lower 25 end. The upper end 26 of each output pin 20 includes a fastener (e.g. screw) for coupling to an internal telecommunications line as described above. The lower end 25 of each output pin 25 is coupled to a separate wire (e.g. wire 21) by a wire wrap. As described above, the wire or wires (e.g. wire 21) are gathered together into a wire bunch 22 and led to the bottom portion 19 of the housing 15.
A problem associated with the above-described building entrance protector 10 is that the wire(s) (e.g. wire 21) often experience strains due to, for example, the opening and closing of the housing about joint 17. More particularly, as the building entrance protector 10 is opened and closed about joint 17, the wire(s) of the bunch 22 are often pulled away from the lower end 25 of the respective output pins 20 due to the force exerted on the end of the wire(s) closest to the joint 17 by the opening and closing of the building entrance protector. The strain on the wire(s) caused by this force often causes the wire(s) to become separated from the lower end 25 of output pins 20 at the point where the wire wrap is the weakest. The separation of the wire(s) from the lower end 25 of the output pins 20 breaks the connection between the input 30 and output 20 pins, and results in malfunctions of the building entrance protector 10.
Thus, there is currently a need for an improved building entrance protector which prevents the guillotine of wires.
The present invention is a connector assembly including at least one connector coupled to a connector housing; and, at least one trough disposed on two opposing sides of the housing, wherein a wire coupled to the at least one connector passes through both troughs.
The above and other advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention which is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.